Sequester sparks laid-off workers' suit

Rep. Buck McKeon criticized the White House for its role in the layoffs. | John Shinkle/POLITICO

The three former employees sued for themselves and other former employees facing similar circumstances. The three worked for L-3 as part of a contract to provide maintenance and support to Hunter Army Airfield, which serves Fort Stewart in Georgia and has seen its budget slashed as a result of this year’s fiscal uncertainty.

“Aviation maintenance services, to include the efforts being performed at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., have not been isolated from the budget situation being experienced by the Army,” said Dan O’Boyle, a spokesman for the Army’s Redstone Arsenal. “As a result, there has been less work required from all contractors providing aviation maintenance services for the Aviation and Missile Command’s Logistic Center.”

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One of the three former employees named in the lawsuit specifically asked a co-worker who handled human resources about the WARN Act, according to the complaint. The employee, Teofilo Mariano Jaquez, got a letter from L-3 on April 10 terminating his employment, citing the government’s intent to “eliminate positions,” the complaint says.

He asked why he wasn’t provided 60 days of notice, saying he was entitled to such notice under the WARN Act. “I don’t know what that is,” he was told, according to the complaint. “You should ask corporate.”

The other two former employees named in the suit got letters on May 3 notifying them of the possibility of layoffs because of an “unforeseen business circumstance.” Within two weeks, both of them received letters terminating their employment, effective immediately, according to the complaint.

The three are seeking wages and other compensation they would have earned during their 60-day notice period.

The WARN Act, which applies to companies with more than 100 employees, allows for exceptions due to unforeseeable business circumstances — a condition that isn’t thoroughly defined in the law.

It also remains to be seen whether the government would be on the hook for L-3’s legal costs, in accordance with OMB’s memo.

“The WARN Act is a law intended to help workers and skilled laborers,” McKeon said. “Offering companies taxpayer money to ignore that law is disappointing and wasteful.”